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would not taste it, saying, that he rather desired a cup of cold water, as more meet for him. And from the very hour the sentence was pronounced against him, till the hour of his death, he took no other food but bread and small-beer.

'He was so delighted with prayer and secret meditation, that he would not hear of any other things willingly, especially if they were worldly matters. A friend of his, advised him to read and meditate upon the lives and deaths of the martyrs. Though he disliked not the counsel, yet he answered, that (by God's mercy) he had enough to occupy his mind withal, and to meditate upon full well. And being put in mind, by the same friend, with what alacrity and joy of mind many thousand martyrs had suffered the most exquisite torments for Christ's sake, and that they never complained nor shrunk thereat: he answered, that this same thought came often to his mind, and afforded him such comfort, that he no ways doubted but that he should find and feel the (like) grace of God's consolation in the midst of his agony. And surely this courage and willingness to die came from this: that on the Thursday before his arraignment and death, he had cleansed his conscience by confession, and had fortified himself by receiving the blessed sacrament of the altar: for a priest coming to visit him, with others in company, desirous to communicate at Mr. Nelson's hands, wishing it might be upon Candlemas day, because of the solemnity of the feast. After they had considered of the matter, they saw it was no fit day, because such festivals are more subject to suspicion; and therefore they concluded to defer it till the day after Candlemas day but Mr. Nelson, wished rather to prevent the feast, and to communicate upon the Thursday before; which was done though (at that time) neither he nor any of his friends suspected that he should so shortly come to his martyrdom. When, behold! the very next day after, word was brought him that he was to be arraigned on the morrow, and should be undoubtedly condemned, if he did not revoke his former words: and so it fell out indeed, as you have heard. "So that it was God's special providence that he pitched upon the Thursday before the feast; for otherwise he must have died without the sacred viaticum."

Upon Monday, the 3d of February, being the day of his martyrdom, he came very early, before day, up to the higher part of the prison; whereas, from Saturday till then, he had been kept in a low dungeon. Two of his nearest kinsmen coming to him, found him earnest at his prayers, with his hands joined together and lifted up, insomuch that the other prisoners there present did both mark it, and wonder at it much. When they had talked awhile together, and he saw them so full of sorrow, that they had much ado to abstain from weeping, yet for all that, he was nothing moved himself, neither gave any sign or appearance of sorrow, either in voice or countenance; but rebuked them, saying, that he looked for some comfort and consolation of them, in that case, and not by their tears to be occasioned to grieve; willing them farther, to lament and weep for their own sins and not for him; for he had a sure confidence that all should go well with him.

. When his kinsmen took their last farewell of him, they fell into such

immoderate tears and lamentations, that he was somewhat moved therewith, but stayed and repressed nature by-and-by, and so dismissed them: and they were no sooner gone, but two ministers came in, seeking to remove him from his faith, but in vain; for he utterly refused to have any talk with them, desiring them to let him be in quiet, and so they did, and departed from him.

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When he was brought forth of the prison, and laid upon the hurdle, some of the officers exhorted him to ask the queen's majesty, whom he had highly offended, forgiveness: he answered, I will ask her no pardon, for I never offended her. At which words the people that stood about him raged, saying, then he should be hanged like a traitor as he was. Well, said he, God's will be done; I perceive that I must die, and surely I am ready to die with a good will; for better is it to abide all punishment, be it ever so grievous, here, than to suffer the eternal torments of hell fire.

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Being come to the place of execution, and put into the cart, the first words he spoke were, in manus tuas Domine, &c. Then he besought such of the standers by as were catholics, to pray with him, and for him, saying, either in Latin or in English, the pater, ave and creed, which he himself said in Latin, adding thereto the confiteor, and the psalms miserere and de profundis; which being finished, turning himself round about to all the people, he spoke to them in this sort, I call you all this day to witness, that I die in the unity of the catholic church; and for that unity do now most willingly suffer my blood to be shed: and therefore I beseech God, and request you all to pray for the same, that it would please God, of his great mercy, to make you, and all others that are not such already, true catholic men; and both to live and die in the unity of our holy mother the catholic Roman church. At which words the people cried out, away with thee and thy catholic Romish faith but this notwithstanding, he repeated the same prayer again.

Then he requested to be forgiven of all men, as well absent as present, if he had offended any; protesting that he forgave all his enemies and persecutors, desiring God also to forgive them. Here again he was willed to ask the queen's forgiveness; which he refused to do for a while at last he said, if I have offended her, or any else, I ask her and all the world forgiveness, as I forgive all and so the hangman being ordered to despatch, Mr. Nelson prayed a little while to himself, and then requested all such as were catholics to pray with him, that Christ, by the merits of his bitter passion, would receive his soul into everlasting joy. When the cart was drawn away, a great multitude cried with a loud voice, Lord receive his soul.

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He was cut down before he was half dead, and so dismembered and ripped up and, as the hangman plucked out his heart, he lifted himself up a little, and, as some that stood near, report, spoke these words, I forgive the queen, and all that were causers of my death: but I, though I saw his lips move, yet heard not so much and the hangman had three or four blows at his head before he could strike it off. His quarters were hanged on four of the gates of the city, and his head set upon London bridge.' So far my old English author.

Mr. Nelson suffered at Tyburn, February 3, 1577-8. Of him Mr. Stow, in his chronicle, writes thus: John Nelson, for denying the queen's supremacy, and such other traitorous words against her majesty, was drawn from Newgate to Tyburn, and there hanged, bowelled and quartered. One Sherwood was also hanged for the like treason, February 7.

THOMAS SHERWOOD, SCHOLAR.*

THOMAS SHERWOOD was born at London, of pious and catholic parents, and by them brought up in the true faith, and in the fear of God. But being desirous to improve himself in virtue and learning, he went over to the English college, founded not long before, in the university of Douay, in Flanders, where I find him, in the diary of the house, a student, in 1576. Not long after this, he returned to London, in order to settle his affairs, and procure money to help him to carry on his studies.

Whilst he was in London, he frequented the house of lady Tregony, a virtuous catholic, who had a son named Martin, whose faith and manners were widely distant from those of his mother. This young spark suspected that mass was sometimes privately said in his mother's house; and this, as he imagined, by the means of Mr. Sherwood; which was the occasion of his conceiving an implacable hatred against him; insomuch, that one day meeting him in the streets, he cried out, stop the traitor, stop the traitor; and so causing him to be apprehended, had him before the next justice of peace. Where, when they were come, Mr. Tregony could alledge nothing else against Mr. Sherwood, but that he suspected him to be a papist. Upon which the justice examined him concerning his religion; and in particular, what his sentiments were concerning the queen's church-headship, and the pope's supremacy.To which Mr. Sherwood candidly answered, that he did not believe the queen to be the head of the church of England; and that this pre-eminence belonged to the pope. And being further asked concerning the queen's religion, he made the like answers as we have seen above, Mr. Nelson did. Upon which he was immediately committed, and cast into a dungeon in the Tower. In the mean time his lodgings were searched and plundered of all that he had, and between 20 and 30l. of money, borrowed for the use of his poor afflicted father, were carried off by these harpies with the rest.

In the Tower he was most cruelly racked, in order to make him discover where he had heard mass. But he suffered all their tortures with a greatness of soul not unequal to that of the primitive martyrs, and would not be induced to betray or bring any man into danger. After this, he was thrust into a dark, filthy hole, where he endured very much from hunger, stench, and cold, and the general want of all things, no one being allowed to visit him, or afford him any comfort. Inso

From Mr. Bridgewater's Concertatio Ecclesia Catholica, Raissius, his catalogue of the martyrs of Douay college, and a Latin MS. in my hands.

much, that when a catholic gentleman, "Mr. Roper, son-in-law to Sir Thomas More," pitying his extreme sufferings, had, by the means of another prisoner, conveyed to Mr. Sherwood's keeper some money for the use of his prisoner, the money was by the keeper returned the next day, because the lieutenant of the Tower would not suffer the prisoner to have the benefit of any such alms. And all that he could be prevailed upon to do, was to lay out one poor sixpence for a little fresh straw for him to lie upon.

In fine, after about six months' suffering in this manner, with invincible patience, and gloriously triumphing over chains, dungeons, and torments, during which he often repeated these words, Lord Jesu, O ! I am not worthy that I should suffer these things for thee! much less am I worthy of those rewards which thou hast promised to give to such as confess thee; he was brought out to his trial, and condemned to die for denying the queen's supremacy; and was executed according to sentence, being cut down whilst he was yet alive, dismembered, bowelled, and quartered.

He suffered at Tyburn, February 7, 1577-8.

This year, 1578, the English seminary was obliged to leave Douay (after having sent from thence fifty-two priests, upon the English mission, besides others sent to Rome,) and to repair to Rhemes; where they remained till 1594. The first of those that were ordained at Rhemes, who suffered in England for religious matters, was

EVERARD HANSE, PRIEST.—1581.*

MR. HANSE was born in Northamptonshire, and performed his higher studies in the university of Cambridge; then was made a minister, and promoted to a good fat benefice. 'But, by God's great providence and mercy towards him,' "he had not been above two or three years in that state, before he"fell into a grievous sickness, in which, as well by that chastisement, as by some special miraculous admonitions from above, he began to consider of his former life, and the damnable state and function he was in. Whereupon, calling for a catholic priest,' "the manuscript says it was his own brother, William Hanse, who was a priest of Douay college, with whom before he had many disputes," he reconciled himself to the church, forsook the ministry, abandoned his wrongfully-begotten benefice, and so passed over to Rhemes. Where, having lived near two years in most zealous and studious sort, and being by that time, through continual exercise, well instructed in cases of conscience, and all duties of priesthood, he was, for the unspeakable desire he had to gain both others, but especially some of his dearest friends, to the unity of the church and salvation, much moved to be made a priest, and to return home.

He had his intent,' "being made priest, March 25, 1581, by the bishop of Chaalon, in the church of the blessed virgin, with ten others

* From a Douay MS. But chiefly from the same author from whom we have transcribed the martyrdoms of Mr. Maine and Mr. Nelson.

of the same college. He said his first mass on the 2d of April, of the same year, and was sent upon the mission on the 24th of the same month, in the company of Mr. Freeman, Mr. Finglie, and Mr. Henry Clinch.'

"Mr. Hanse being therefore now lawfully sent," came into England; where he had not been long, when venturing one day to visit certain prisoners in the Marshalsea, he was there apprehended,' “upon suspicion of his being a priest," and being examined by an officer what he was, and from whence he came ? he, without more ado, confessed boldly himself to be a catholic, and a priest of the seminary of Rhemes; whereupon he was cast into Newgate amongst thieves, and loaded with irons. And a few days after, when the jail delivery of that prison was holden, he was brought to the bar, July the 28th, where Mr. Fleetwood, the recorder, sitting in judgment, asked him, where he was made priest? what was the cause of his coming into England? and the like. The man of God, without fear or dissimulation, told him, that the cause of his return was to gain souls; and that he was made priest at Rhemes.

Recorder. Then you are a subject to the pope?

Mr. Hanse. So I am, Sir.

Recorder. Then the pope hath some superiority over you? "Mr. Hanse. That is true.

Recorder. What! in England?

'Mr. Hanse. Yea, in England, for he hath as much authority and right in spiritual government in this realm as ever he had; and as much as he hath in any other country, or in Rome itself.

Upon which most plain and sincere confession, the heretics, (as their fashion is to falsify all things, and, by contrived slanders, to make the servants of God odious,) gave out afterwards in print, that he should say, that princes had not any supremacy or sovereignty in their own realms, but the pope only; which was far from his and every catholic man's mind. But upon his former answer, to bring him, by course of questions, into the compass of some of their new statutes of treason, they asked him farther, whether he thought the pope could not err? to which, though he expressly answered, that in life and manners he might offend, as also err in his private doctrine or writing, but that in judicial definitions, and in deciding matters of controversy, he did never err. This plain speech, notwithstanding, the enemies gave out that he should say, the pope could not sin.

Then they proceeded with him further, and demanded whether the pope had not judicially proceeded in the deposition of the queen? And, thereupon they read a piece of the bull of Pius Quintus; those words especially in which he declared her to be an heretic, and a fautor of heretics, and deprived her of all regal authority, and pretended right of these dominions, &c. Did he not err, said they, in this? I hope, said Mr. Hanse, he did not. Which term, I hope, he used on purpose in this matter, because Pius Quintus his act was, in this case, not a matter of doctrine, but of fact; wherein he did not affirm that the pope could not err,'" or even grievously sin, though it is certainly the part of Christian charity to hope that he did not."

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